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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Cheer-Accident - Putting Off Death

It’s been a good while since I’ve done a review from the
Cuneiform label. And it’s about time to do a review for one of the most
interesting bands that have peaked my ears more and more since discovering them
in the 2010 documentary, Romantic
Warriors: A Progressive Music Saga. That band is Chicago’s own
Cheer-Accident. Since their formation back in 1981 and despite line-up changes,
they blew me away right from the moment I watched the documentary and I was
hooked right from the get-go.

I have one of their albums which is 2009’s Fear Draws Misfortune. And then they
took a six-year hiatus after the release of 2011’s No Ifs, Ands or Dogs. This year, it’s almost to let the listener
that they are still here and they have the batteries all charged up and ready
to go with the release of their new album entitled, Putting Off Death. The album title suggests that while death is
approaching it’s a game of chess with the Grim Reaper.

But for me, it’s almost along with the album cover done by
Jeff Libersher’s art deco 1940s look, the idea of Chess feels very much essence
of Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 classic, The
Seventh Seal. The opening track, Language
Is begins with this lovely melodic piano ballad and Thymme Jones’ vocal
arrangements. The first 3 minutes and 40 seconds have these lyrical aspects
between Robert Wyatt and unsung singer-songwriter John Howard (Kid in a Big World-era) that brings to
mind of his classic, Goodbye Suzie.

It suddenly transforms into an aggressive yet alarming
movement with a mid-fast ramming speed segment before it changes near the end
into a heavenly atmospheric Blade Runner-sque
scenario of Brian Eno’s Here Come the
Warm Jets-era. The Avant-Pop catchy melody featuring the piano and keyboards
with some nice percussion sounds as Carmen Armillas’ soothing vocals describe of
the scenario and where the lyrics gave the album’s title from on Immanence.

But then Thymme himself brings his essence of the
psychedelic-era of The Beatles with some trippy effects between the vibes of Tomorrow Never Knows and Frank Zappa’s The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet. Not
to mention the trippy effects on the vocalizations and menacing acoustic guitar
sounds with Wishful Breathing while
everything goes into an apocalyptic hellish introduction to Falling World.

Guitars go through a mysterious opening door to the essence
of William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. There’s
this crossover essence between David Bowie’s Hallo Spaceboy and Radiohead’s The
Bends sessions featuring some mid-operatic vocal arrangements. But then,
Jazz Trumpets goes head towards the howling mix improvisation and then ending
with an electronica doom finale guitar chords.

Lifetime Guarantee is
probably going to be one of Cheer-Accident’s favorites. And it is for me one of
my favorites that is on Putting Off
Death. It has the ingredients of Prog-Pop, standalone rock anthem, Frank
Zappa arrangements of odd-time changes near the closing sequences, memorable
grooves with some fanfare trumpet movements, the vocalizations rise for life
lasting voyage, and little bits and pieces of the AOR sound (Album Orientated
Rock).

Hymn closes the
album. The echoing reverb effects of the piano brings to mind a piece of music
delving into the pool of a genre into the dreamy pop city. Jones sends you into
the sky that there one day might be hope for a new day along with an eerie
nightmarish string section for a brief few seconds. It is a gripping way to
close the album and fade off into the sunset.

Putting Off Death in which
Thymme Jones suggested that it might ask the listener that it will ask you some
questions that can be answered through the mind of a receiver. Now for me, I
always like a mystery. It is of course, a mysterious album that might give you
some clues to the piece of Cheer-Accident’s piece of the puzzle as if they are following in David Lynch's footsteps. I have
embarked more rides with album than ever before, and Putting Off Death is one of them.

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About Me

I'm a blogger/freelance writer from Houston, TX who writes album reviews because I enjoy it. Even though, I'm not the best writer, there is no stop sign for me. I have a love of Progressive Rock music, Jazz Fusion, and Early Heavy Metal music from the '60s to the early '80s. I went to HCC (Houston Community College) for nine years and have completed my degree in Music in Performance: Jazz Studies. I've been writing Progressive Rock and Symphonic Metal reviews starting back in 2008 on my blogsite and it never gets old.